World's Best Expecting Rippable Surf at Hurley Pro

The world's best surfers are anticipating some very rippable surf at this year's Hurley Pro at Lower Trestles. According to the latest Surfline forecast a fresh pulse of swell should start filling in Wednesday, September 7, the first day of the competition waiting period for both the Hurley Pro and the Swatch Women's Pro.

John John Florence will be defending his lead atop the Jeep Leaderboard at Trestles this week. It's the first event Florence has ever entered ranked No. 1.WSL / Kirstin Scholtz

"There's some potential for day one," says WSL Commissioner Kieren Perrow, who is monitoring the forecast around the clock at this stage. "But it's really filling in Thursday through Saturday, with overhead sets and good conditions. It will be an exciting run of swell, giving the athletes perfect Lowers to showcase their high performance surfing."

From Surfline's Official Forecast:A long run of very rippable and favorably angled SW swell builds the first couple days of the waiting period, showing the most size the 8th-11th of September.

An ongoing storm system, moving out from under New Zealand into the Central South Pacific over the last several days, has set up a long run of SW swell due to build in over the first couple days of the event waiting period. This swell will be from a good to great swell direction for Lowers, with a mid to long swell period which is also very favorable.

The left at Lower Trestles is known for serving up some of the best sections for the world's best to unload on. Gabriel Medina is never one to pass on opportunity.WSL / Lieber Films

Lower Trestles is an extremely playful wave. It's been host to avant-garde surfing competitions since the early 1980s. Both Tom Curren and Kelly Slater won their professional debuts here. Lowers can handle virtually any size swell, but the sweet spot for today's high-caliber brand of progressive surfing is in the head-high to overhead range, which is exactly what the forecast is calling for.

Fresh off his huge win in Tahiti, Kelly Slater will be trying to recapture some of the magic that's led him to six CT wins at Lower Trestles.WSL / Rowland/ ASP Handout

With a huge title race serving as the backdrop to this year's event, the stakes couldn't be higher. John John Florence, Matt Wilkinson, and Gabriel Medina are clustered tightly together atop the Jeep Leaderboard, ranked No. 1, 2, and 3 respectively. But with more than 40,000 points left to divvy out between now and the final event of the season, there are several long-shot threats lurking: Adriano de Souza, Julian Wilson, Ace Buchan, Jordy Smith, and Kelly Slater are among them.

Defending Champion Mick Fanning will be playing the role of spoiler at Lowers, surfing in his last event of the season before resuming his restful year.WSL / Sean Rowland

No lead is safe. We learned that in Tahiti, where Matt Wilkinson lost his grip on the Jeep Leader yellow jersey that he's held since leaving the Gold Coast of Australia. John John Florence has taken over the top spot, and will be sporting the yellow jersey at Lowers. Florence has made his title intentions abundantly clear this year, but is under no illusions that things will get easier.

After sitting out the 2015 Watch Women's Pro due to injury, Steph Gilmore is looking forward to returning to Lower Trestles. She won the event in 2014.WSL / Rowland/ ASP Handout

The same is true on the women's side of the ledger, where Tyler Wright will be trying to defend her current No. 1 spot against a fierce set of competitors giving chase. Courtney Conlogue is hoping to rebound from her early exit at the US Open of Surfing, while Carissa Moore and Stephanie Gilmore are looking for their first wins of the season.

Stay tuned to worldsurfleague.com for all the latest on the Hurley Pro and Swatch Women's Pro, Sep. 7-18.